Scott Pomfret, a lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission, described himself as “a happy porn-writing Sodomite” in the sarcastic memoir, titled “Since My Last Confession” (Arcade Publishing). Pomfret and his writing partner had been subjects of feature articles in the Globe and The New York Times magazine.
Pomfret interviewed local clergy for the book and, using fictional names, claims some were sexually active. The book also apparently mocks Cardinal P. O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston.
Pomfret told the newspaper he was disappointed about his dismissal. He heard from a shrine official that friars were angry the book “read like an expose.
“I anticipated in my book that perhaps the archdiocese might boot me out, but it never occurred to me that it would be the friars,” Pomfret said.
The executive director of the St. Anthony Shrine, where Pomfret was a lector, a Eucharistic minister and trainer of lay ministers, told the Globe that Pomfret’s dual roles unsettled parishioners.
“There were people who felt it was incompatible for someone to stand up publicly and say, ‘I’m a pornographer and I’m lector at St. Anthony Shrine,” the Rev. David Convertino said.
Pomfret, 40, said the shrine also eliminated a gay and lesbian spirituality group that he led. Convertino disagreed, saying it wasn’t eliminated but instead changed to hold occasional events.